North East clean energy developer OnPath Energy has pledged to invest 拢1bn in renewables infrastructure over the next five years.
The Wearside company 鈥 formerly Banks Renewables 鈥 was acquired for a significant sum in 2023 by Brookfield, a global asset manager with around $1 trillion of assets under management.
Following the deal OnPath has been building a portfolio of onshore wind, solar and energy storage projects, and already owns and operates 10 onshore wind farms across Scotland and northern England, with plans to progress the construction of several projects across the 海角视频 this year.
Now the business has unveiled ambitious plans to plough around 拢1bn into clean energy projects across the 海角视频 over the next five years 鈥 a move which would also create hundreds of skilled jobs.
The announcement came as Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, officially opened the company鈥檚 new Sunderland headquarters. The Houghton and Sunderland South MP visited Chase House on Rainton Bridge Business Park, which sits within her constituency, to find out more about OnPath鈥檚 plans for contributing towards the Government鈥檚 net zero and skills development agendas, as well as its future ambitions.
Over the last 12 months more than 30 jobs have been created by OnPath, with more set to follow in 2025.
Richard Dunkley, CEO at OnPath Energy, said: 鈥淭he new Government has been very firm in its commitment to accelerating the transition to net zero. We will be contributing towards reaching this destination by aiming to invest around one billion pounds in building more of the renewables infrastructure the 海角视频 needs over the next five years, a plan which will in turn create and support hundreds of skilled, sustainable green jobs across the 海角视频, including within the North East.
鈥淎longside this, we are working to bring communities with us on the energy transition by creating industry-leading commitments on community benefits and community shared ownership. We will achieve this by developing people, giving them the skills required to underpin the sector鈥檚 future success, and by operating in genuine partnership with stakeholders and the communities in which we鈥檙e working; we describe this as the OnPath Together approach to development.
鈥淥nPath has ambitious plans to make further long-term capital investment in this high-quality renewable energy infrastructure, amplifying the difference we can make to a net zero future for the 海角视频 that will help to lower consumer bills, improve the 海角视频鈥檚 energy security and deliver a just transition that is fair and inclusive for everyone.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very grateful to the minister for taking the time to officially open our new headquarters and look forward to contributing to her government鈥檚 drive towards the successful attainment of its environmental, energy and skills development goals.鈥
Ms Phillipson said 鈥淚鈥檇 like to welcome OnPath Energy to Houghton and Sunderland South, the opening of their new headquarters will be welcome news for local people. Clean power will unlock billions of pounds in investment and reindustrialise Britain with thousands of skilled jobs across the country. Through our Plan for Change, this Labour government will build an energy system that can bring down bills for households and businesses for good.鈥
Sebastian Perl, senior vice president at Brookfield, said: 鈥淲e were delighted to invest into OnPath Energy in 2023 and the outlook for onshore renewables in the 海角视频 has continued to improve since then. We will continue to support the company to invest in critical energy infrastructure as the 海角视频 aims to fully decarbonise its electricity grid.鈥
